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October 1 - October 7,1997
Vol. 4, No. 19 Issue 174
And Baby Makes Seven
� PAGF 44
\ LGBT Film Festival � PAGE 12-13
Omaha groups donate
nicnt*\s tni/e � PAGF 3
Church anniversary brings financial windfall
focusPOINT hits 100 cities in the Midwest
from News Releases_________________
After 30 days of prayer and preparation for All God�s Children (AGC) Metropolitan Community Church�s 23rd Anniversary Miracle Sunday on Sept. 14, the congregation found that the event lived up to its name.
According to AGC, Pastor Paul Graetz began by asking over 1,000 people to pray for the congregation to catch a vision for the years ahead, to renew commitment and for God to provide a financial miracle.
Last winter, the church had to purchase a $14,000 boiler when the 30-year-old heating system gave its last burst of steam. After raising $2,000 in emergency giving, the congregation took out a $12,000 loan for the new heating system. But as the winter went on, the sanctuary roof began to leak due to ice dams on the roof. The leaks created $20,000 in interior damage to the south wall of the sanctuary about an estimated $5,800 in roof repair. Realizing the walls and roof could not withstand another Minnesota winter, the church�s Board of Directors and Pastor Graetz planned for a miracle.
In addition to inviting 1,000 people to pray for the congregation, Graetz asked them to set aside at least $1 a day for 30 days for a miracle offering on the anniversary Sunday. Graetz and the board hoped to raise $6,000 to repay the remain-
ing amount of the boiler loan and obtain additional financing to begin repairing the roof.
On Sept. 14, the congregation gave first to the general fund with an offering that surpassed the weekly budget, and then gave above and beyond, raising almost $12,000 in a miracle offering. The Board of Directors was able to pay off the boiler and begin work on the roof. Also that week, the church�s insurance company settled to repair the $20,000 worth of damage to the interior.
But according to AGC, God wasn�t finished. That same week the church received a notice from the IRS refunding them $7,000 in penalties in a tax settlement from 1993.
According to the church: �The 23rd Anniversary was truly a day for the congregation, Board of Directors and Staff of All God�s Children MCC to be thanking and praising God! The congregation celebrated the blessings with a sit-down dinner for 200 following the morning worship service. Everyone attributes this miracle of blessings to the power of prayer working great faith in the congregation�s life.�
Metropolitan Community Church is the world�s largest Christian denomination serving a predominately gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community.
by Rachel Gold_____________________
Minneapolis is home to the Upper Midwest�s largest newspaper for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans-gender (GLBT) community, focusPoint newspaper announced on Wednesday, Oct. 1. According to publisher Craig Lindahl-Urben, the paper distributes copies to over 100 cities in the Upper Midwest with a weekly print run of 30,000.
Asked about the reason for the announcement, Lindahl-Urben explained, �focusPOINT has been moving toward a regional newspaper for years; our expansion has finally reached a point where it�s significaiit.�
For the future, he added, �I think the Midwest will see a much greater presence of focusPOINT, with expanded news coverage and an expanded circulation that already exceeds by 30 percent any other publication in the midwest, including the Chicago papers.�
The next closest weekly newspapers to focusPOINT in terms of print numbers are Gay Chicago with
21,000 issues, Windy City Times with 20,000, Outlines with 15,000, all located in Chicago, and the Current News in Missouri with 18,500.
Counting papers that distribute once every two weeks, the Ohio
People�s Chronicle has the widest ranging distribution with papers in 34 states, but only prints 24,000. Closer to home, Lavender Magazine advertises that it prints 25,000 every other week.
The Twin Cities Q Monthly tops print numbers for monthly publications in the Upper Midwest with
30.000 copies, more than double its nearest neighbor. Q Monthly distributes primarily in the Twin Cities area. In Wisconsin, the next largest monthly, Q Voice, prints
12.000 copies.
Asked what motivated the rapid growth in focusPoint�s distribution throughout the Upper Midwest, Lindahl-Urben said, �the decision that we want to have a presence in the entire midwest.�
He added, �with our increased growth and strength, we found it
possible to do this.... And we added a distribution coordinator who was finally able to address the complexity of distributing a regional newspaper.�
According to Pat Reid, distribution coordinator and assistant to the publisher, focusPOINT is available in over 40 cities in Minnesota and about 60 cities in Iowa, Nebraska, the Dakotas, Wisconsin, Missouri, Illinois and Kansas. Now that the paper is present in those cities, Reid said he plans to increase the number of sites where it�s available.
Asked how he grew the paper�s distribution to over 100 cities, Reid said, �We did a lot of research.�
He added, �many of our contacts were very excited about a regional newspaper coming to their site.�
HRC prepares for 8th annual dinner
by Rachel Gold
Every year the Upper Midwest/Twin Cities Human Rights Campaign Dinner changes a little to suit its audience better. Last year the changes included a larger space; this year attendees are in for a shorter program of speeches and more time for dancing after dinner.
Of course the dinner will retain many of its familiar elements: the silent auction, which this year holds celebrity artifacts for the bidding; awards; and speeches including former Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders and Ellen�s mom, Betty DeGeneres. The evening�s entertainment will be provided by the loel Spineti Quartet during the silent
HUMAN
RIGHTS
CAMPAIGN
auction and after dinner by the band Synergy.
The dinner co-chairs have had a few stumbling blocks to face this year, first of all the criticism from
HRC in D.C. that their dinner price was too low. The price is now $175 a seat for most of the tables and $250 a spot for the best seats. Minneapolis was one of the last cities to raise its dinner price, and Co-chair Lee Biersdorf said they were told by HRC national to expect a 10 percent drop in ticket purchases as the price went up.
So far the prediction has held true. Biersdorf said between table captains and corporations, they have about 1,100 seats spoken for, though they�re not all sold at this time. Last year the dinner filled between 1,200 and 1,300 seats.
Dinnercontinued on page 3
East River residents warn about
police activity
by Rachel Gold
A concerned letter to the mayor by Minnesota Family Council Executive Director Tom Prichard has resulted in a series of meetings and an alliance between residents of East River Road and the Gay and Lesbian Community Action Council (GLCAC). Both groups are working to warn men who frequent the area known as �Bare Ass Beach� and who use the park after 10 p.m. at night that they can and will be ticketed by police if they engage in illegal activity.
Tom Kilton, a resident of the area, explained that he has been involved in neighborhood projects for about eight years to make the beach area down the bank from the road more accessible and pleasant for a variety of people. The group,
the East River Gorge committee, has put significant time and financial resources into creating a path along the river, and a second entrance to the area.
�We put a lot of money into that park, and one of the reasons we did it is the neighbors were quite concerned that over the years there have probably been some activities down there that shouldn�t have been going on,� Kilton said. �And yet we knew that it was a pretty isolated spot and that the average family probably didn�t go down there because they were a little bit nervous about the situation. We felt that if we could make the park more attractive, we could encourage more people to go down there and then it would become more user-friend ly to the entire population.�
Residents� concerns included a number of murders that have happened in the area in the past six years, including the shooting death of a man in front of Shriners Hospital last May. In the interest of making the park safer, residents want to enforce the 10 p.m. curfew on all undeveloped areas of Minneapolis parks. Kilton said they have posted signs and asked police to patrol the area.
Kilton is not affiliated with the Minnesota Family Council and didn�t know if any of the other residents were. The first he heard of Tom Prichard and his letter to Mayor Sharon Sayles Belton was at the early September meeting that included concerned citizens, the police and the GLCAC.
East River continued on page 5
AIDS Project defines 1998 agenda
by Rachel Gold
The Minnesota AIDS Project held their State of AIDS conference last Saturday, bringing together about 110 activists and lobbyists to talk about MAP�s plans for 1998 and to encourage participation in MAP�s and other political activities.
MAP Executive Director Lorraine Teel and national AIDS Action Council Executive Director Daniel Zingale delivered the keynote addresses. The day also included some training for activists, and many discussions on the future of HIV and AIDS policy.
MAP Public Policy Director Bob Tracy explained the organization�s plans for next year, which include following through on issues from last year, new issues, and working to solve ongoing problems. Their first priority in following through on last year�s victories are the pieces of the 1997 HIV Prevention and Education Act that passed in a handful of bills.
�We accomplished a lot with that act, but now we have to be present for the advocacy work,� Tracy said. That work includes making sure that syringe access is as effective as possible, that pregnant women get the services passed in the bill, and that the initiative for rural school HIV education programs begins.
Rachel Gold
(left to right) Marcia Keller-Avner, Jeremy Hanson, Paul Carrizales and Jon Pratt
New initiatives this years include working with a coalition of groups beyond the HIV community, such as groups focused on general
STD prevention and pharmacies which could provide information about prevention along with testing kits and clean syringes. Tracy said MAP will also work with other groups towards sodomy repeal, which will be a goal for some activists in the HIV/AIDS and gay communities next year.
For their ongoing efforts, Tracy said MAP wanted to work with other health organizations around the issue of managed health care.
MAP will be putting together those elements, along with suggestions made during the State of AIDS conference to create an agenda that will be reviewed by their Public Policy Committee. If passed, it will be released to the Minnesota community shortly before World AIDS Day on Dec. 1.
MAP also plans a lobby day at the state capitol on Feb. 5 for people to talk to their legislators about important issues in the 1998 session.
1998 Agenda continued on page 3

October 1 - October 7,1997
Vol. 4, No. 19 Issue 174
And Baby Makes Seven
� PAGF 44
\ LGBT Film Festival � PAGE 12-13
Omaha groups donate
nicnt*\s tni/e � PAGF 3
Church anniversary brings financial windfall
focusPOINT hits 100 cities in the Midwest
from News Releases_________________
After 30 days of prayer and preparation for All God�s Children (AGC) Metropolitan Community Church�s 23rd Anniversary Miracle Sunday on Sept. 14, the congregation found that the event lived up to its name.
According to AGC, Pastor Paul Graetz began by asking over 1,000 people to pray for the congregation to catch a vision for the years ahead, to renew commitment and for God to provide a financial miracle.
Last winter, the church had to purchase a $14,000 boiler when the 30-year-old heating system gave its last burst of steam. After raising $2,000 in emergency giving, the congregation took out a $12,000 loan for the new heating system. But as the winter went on, the sanctuary roof began to leak due to ice dams on the roof. The leaks created $20,000 in interior damage to the south wall of the sanctuary about an estimated $5,800 in roof repair. Realizing the walls and roof could not withstand another Minnesota winter, the church�s Board of Directors and Pastor Graetz planned for a miracle.
In addition to inviting 1,000 people to pray for the congregation, Graetz asked them to set aside at least $1 a day for 30 days for a miracle offering on the anniversary Sunday. Graetz and the board hoped to raise $6,000 to repay the remain-
ing amount of the boiler loan and obtain additional financing to begin repairing the roof.
On Sept. 14, the congregation gave first to the general fund with an offering that surpassed the weekly budget, and then gave above and beyond, raising almost $12,000 in a miracle offering. The Board of Directors was able to pay off the boiler and begin work on the roof. Also that week, the church�s insurance company settled to repair the $20,000 worth of damage to the interior.
But according to AGC, God wasn�t finished. That same week the church received a notice from the IRS refunding them $7,000 in penalties in a tax settlement from 1993.
According to the church: �The 23rd Anniversary was truly a day for the congregation, Board of Directors and Staff of All God�s Children MCC to be thanking and praising God! The congregation celebrated the blessings with a sit-down dinner for 200 following the morning worship service. Everyone attributes this miracle of blessings to the power of prayer working great faith in the congregation�s life.�
Metropolitan Community Church is the world�s largest Christian denomination serving a predominately gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community.
by Rachel Gold_____________________
Minneapolis is home to the Upper Midwest�s largest newspaper for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans-gender (GLBT) community, focusPoint newspaper announced on Wednesday, Oct. 1. According to publisher Craig Lindahl-Urben, the paper distributes copies to over 100 cities in the Upper Midwest with a weekly print run of 30,000.
Asked about the reason for the announcement, Lindahl-Urben explained, �focusPOINT has been moving toward a regional newspaper for years; our expansion has finally reached a point where it�s significaiit.�
For the future, he added, �I think the Midwest will see a much greater presence of focusPOINT, with expanded news coverage and an expanded circulation that already exceeds by 30 percent any other publication in the midwest, including the Chicago papers.�
The next closest weekly newspapers to focusPOINT in terms of print numbers are Gay Chicago with
21,000 issues, Windy City Times with 20,000, Outlines with 15,000, all located in Chicago, and the Current News in Missouri with 18,500.
Counting papers that distribute once every two weeks, the Ohio
People�s Chronicle has the widest ranging distribution with papers in 34 states, but only prints 24,000. Closer to home, Lavender Magazine advertises that it prints 25,000 every other week.
The Twin Cities Q Monthly tops print numbers for monthly publications in the Upper Midwest with
30.000 copies, more than double its nearest neighbor. Q Monthly distributes primarily in the Twin Cities area. In Wisconsin, the next largest monthly, Q Voice, prints
12.000 copies.
Asked what motivated the rapid growth in focusPoint�s distribution throughout the Upper Midwest, Lindahl-Urben said, �the decision that we want to have a presence in the entire midwest.�
He added, �with our increased growth and strength, we found it
possible to do this.... And we added a distribution coordinator who was finally able to address the complexity of distributing a regional newspaper.�
According to Pat Reid, distribution coordinator and assistant to the publisher, focusPOINT is available in over 40 cities in Minnesota and about 60 cities in Iowa, Nebraska, the Dakotas, Wisconsin, Missouri, Illinois and Kansas. Now that the paper is present in those cities, Reid said he plans to increase the number of sites where it�s available.
Asked how he grew the paper�s distribution to over 100 cities, Reid said, �We did a lot of research.�
He added, �many of our contacts were very excited about a regional newspaper coming to their site.�
HRC prepares for 8th annual dinner
by Rachel Gold
Every year the Upper Midwest/Twin Cities Human Rights Campaign Dinner changes a little to suit its audience better. Last year the changes included a larger space; this year attendees are in for a shorter program of speeches and more time for dancing after dinner.
Of course the dinner will retain many of its familiar elements: the silent auction, which this year holds celebrity artifacts for the bidding; awards; and speeches including former Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders and Ellen�s mom, Betty DeGeneres. The evening�s entertainment will be provided by the loel Spineti Quartet during the silent
HUMAN
RIGHTS
CAMPAIGN
auction and after dinner by the band Synergy.
The dinner co-chairs have had a few stumbling blocks to face this year, first of all the criticism from
HRC in D.C. that their dinner price was too low. The price is now $175 a seat for most of the tables and $250 a spot for the best seats. Minneapolis was one of the last cities to raise its dinner price, and Co-chair Lee Biersdorf said they were told by HRC national to expect a 10 percent drop in ticket purchases as the price went up.
So far the prediction has held true. Biersdorf said between table captains and corporations, they have about 1,100 seats spoken for, though they�re not all sold at this time. Last year the dinner filled between 1,200 and 1,300 seats.
Dinnercontinued on page 3
East River residents warn about
police activity
by Rachel Gold
A concerned letter to the mayor by Minnesota Family Council Executive Director Tom Prichard has resulted in a series of meetings and an alliance between residents of East River Road and the Gay and Lesbian Community Action Council (GLCAC). Both groups are working to warn men who frequent the area known as �Bare Ass Beach� and who use the park after 10 p.m. at night that they can and will be ticketed by police if they engage in illegal activity.
Tom Kilton, a resident of the area, explained that he has been involved in neighborhood projects for about eight years to make the beach area down the bank from the road more accessible and pleasant for a variety of people. The group,
the East River Gorge committee, has put significant time and financial resources into creating a path along the river, and a second entrance to the area.
�We put a lot of money into that park, and one of the reasons we did it is the neighbors were quite concerned that over the years there have probably been some activities down there that shouldn�t have been going on,� Kilton said. �And yet we knew that it was a pretty isolated spot and that the average family probably didn�t go down there because they were a little bit nervous about the situation. We felt that if we could make the park more attractive, we could encourage more people to go down there and then it would become more user-friend ly to the entire population.�
Residents� concerns included a number of murders that have happened in the area in the past six years, including the shooting death of a man in front of Shriners Hospital last May. In the interest of making the park safer, residents want to enforce the 10 p.m. curfew on all undeveloped areas of Minneapolis parks. Kilton said they have posted signs and asked police to patrol the area.
Kilton is not affiliated with the Minnesota Family Council and didn�t know if any of the other residents were. The first he heard of Tom Prichard and his letter to Mayor Sharon Sayles Belton was at the early September meeting that included concerned citizens, the police and the GLCAC.
East River continued on page 5
AIDS Project defines 1998 agenda
by Rachel Gold
The Minnesota AIDS Project held their State of AIDS conference last Saturday, bringing together about 110 activists and lobbyists to talk about MAP�s plans for 1998 and to encourage participation in MAP�s and other political activities.
MAP Executive Director Lorraine Teel and national AIDS Action Council Executive Director Daniel Zingale delivered the keynote addresses. The day also included some training for activists, and many discussions on the future of HIV and AIDS policy.
MAP Public Policy Director Bob Tracy explained the organization�s plans for next year, which include following through on issues from last year, new issues, and working to solve ongoing problems. Their first priority in following through on last year�s victories are the pieces of the 1997 HIV Prevention and Education Act that passed in a handful of bills.
�We accomplished a lot with that act, but now we have to be present for the advocacy work,� Tracy said. That work includes making sure that syringe access is as effective as possible, that pregnant women get the services passed in the bill, and that the initiative for rural school HIV education programs begins.
Rachel Gold
(left to right) Marcia Keller-Avner, Jeremy Hanson, Paul Carrizales and Jon Pratt
New initiatives this years include working with a coalition of groups beyond the HIV community, such as groups focused on general
STD prevention and pharmacies which could provide information about prevention along with testing kits and clean syringes. Tracy said MAP will also work with other groups towards sodomy repeal, which will be a goal for some activists in the HIV/AIDS and gay communities next year.
For their ongoing efforts, Tracy said MAP wanted to work with other health organizations around the issue of managed health care.
MAP will be putting together those elements, along with suggestions made during the State of AIDS conference to create an agenda that will be reviewed by their Public Policy Committee. If passed, it will be released to the Minnesota community shortly before World AIDS Day on Dec. 1.
MAP also plans a lobby day at the state capitol on Feb. 5 for people to talk to their legislators about important issues in the 1998 session.
1998 Agenda continued on page 3